The NC State Student Senate swore in a new president Tuesday evening after former Student Senate President Alex Grindstaff was forced to step down due to a university rule that students found responsible for a student conduct violation are not eligible to participate in Student Government.
The new president, Cody Long, the former president pro tempore and a sophomore studying history, reluctantly took office after the Office of Student Conduct found late last semester that Grindstaff was responsible for lying on a medical form submitted to allow him to retake an exam.
“It says a lot about a leader if his successor doesn’t want to succeed him,” Long said.
Grindstaff said he feels the university has treated him unfairly by vacating his position on the grounds of cheating, citing that he used false documentation to get an academic advantage.
“I followed every procedure, and I got every signature to try and prove my case,” Grindstaff said. “I didn’t have any reason to lie, but I was still found responsible in the end.”
While he is excited about taking on his role this semester, Long said Grindstaff did great work during his time on Student Senate, and his absence will be harmful to the university, as Grindstaff was one of the most active and dedicated senators during his combined total of three and a half years on Student Senate.
Long, who was a first-year senator last year, said he is excited to take on the position, but it is nerve-racking to have received such an influential position so early on into his senate career.
“There is a lot to learn,” Long said. “In these kinds of situations where the ball is just dropped in your court, there is only so much preparation you can do.”
Grindstaff said he thinks Long will do good work in the senate, but he is concerned about his lack of experience.
“I know Cody would do a great job, but he’s a sophomore,” Grindstaff said. “He has a huge potential.”
Regardless of his opinions of the situation, Long was obligated to fulfill the role of Student Senate President once the office was vacated due to statutes surrounding his role as president pro tempore.
“It’s a very sticky situation,” Long said.
Grindstaff never officially submitted his resignation due to his disagreement with the conduct ruling. Long said if the Student Senate would have been allowed to vote on whether or not it wanted to accept Grindstaff’s resignation, he would have stood by Grindstaff’s position as Student Senate President.
The university’s decision, which was decided based on a conduct policy that states a conduct hearing board must find the student “more likely than not” to have committed the offense in question, eliminated his ability to participate in student government and automatically vacated the Office of Student Senate President.
Grindstaff has been arguing his case to the university for months through the conduct process. He said the discrepancy in the medical form’s contents was the result of an unintended misprint from the hospital who wrote the medical note, and he did not intentionally submit an inaccurate medical form.
Though Grindstaff lost his appeal to Provost Warwick Arden, he said he is currently looking to find new ways to challenge the outcome and stay involved with student government going forward.
Grindstaff said without his presence in the Senate he is afraid no one else will have his amount of experience and knowledge to speak up for minority students and be a driving force for legislative action to benefit minority students.
Grindstaff was the first member of the LGBTQ community to be elected as NC State’s Student Senate President. Last semester, the Student Senate passed a bill, drafted by Grindstaff, called the Inclusive Admissions Act. The bill called for the university to include an option on admissions applications for prospective students to disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity.
The addition of the sexual orientation option on admissions applications was meant to help the university identify LGBTQ students at NC State to help provide feedback about potential improvements that can be made to the campus environment.
“If someone isn’t going to speak up, minority students will be hurt,” Grindstaff said.
Long said the Student Senate is in a phase of transition right now and is currently working to revisit several new ideas that were introduced last semester.
One of the ideas Long hopes to spend more time working on during his time in office is the “It’s On Us” campaign to bring awareness to and prevent sexual assault on campus. He said he wants to ensure the campaign receives full senate backing to move forward this semester.
“I want to make sure all students feel included in this university, especially with the national events that have been going on in Ferguson, St. Louis and all across the nation,” Long said. “It seems like there is a lot of exclusion going on.”
